I shall take my revenge on you at once by
heaping coals of fire on your head," and he turned towards her a
large picture, all of which was yet in outline, save Mr. Eltinge's
bust and face.
Ida sprang down on her knees before it, exclaiming: "O! my dear,
kind old friend! He's just speaking to me. Mr. Van Berg, I'll
now maintain you are a genius against all the world. You have
put kindness, love, fatherhood into his face. You have made it a
strong and noble, and yet tender and gentle as the man himself. I
never knew it was possible for a portrait to express so much," and
tears of strong, grateful feeling filled her eyes.
Was it success in his art or praise from her lips that gave her
listener such an exquisite thrill of pleasure? He did not stop
to consider, for he was not in an analytical mood at that time.
He was on the crest of the spiritual wave that was sweeping him
heavenward, or towards some beatific state of which he had not
dreamt before. His face glowed with pleasure as he said:
"Since it pleases you, it's no more than justice that you should
know that your visit was the cause of my success. Either your
laugh or your kind parting words brushed the cobwebs from my mind,
and I was able to do better work in a few hours than I might have
accomplished in weeks.
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